Refrigerated display case



Oct. 29, 1940. A. w. Bmx-:LEY

REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE Filed June 15, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

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UUUUUUUUUUUUUUU nnnnnnnnnnnnhnn Inventor; Arthur WBireley, 15 ',YAM/

y His Attorney ITM/ent OY: Arthur VV. Bireley,

2 Sheng-sheet' His lllllllHl i|| A. W. BlRELEY REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE Filed June l5, 1958 Oct. 29, 1940.

i Attorney Patented Oct. 2 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE New York Y. Application June 15, 193s, serial No. 213,894 9 claims. (ci. i2-sas) My invention relates to a display case and more particularly to the refrigeration Vof an island type display case.

Itis an object of my invention to provide an improved apparatus for the display of products requiring refrigeration. p

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved apparatus for circulating air through a display cabinet. f

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. l

For a better understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of an embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of an alternative form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and Fig. 4 is a plan view, partly in section, of the display case illustrated inFig. 3.

In accordance with my invention I have provided a refrigerated display case including a display chamber I0, a cooling chamber II, a refrigerating machinery compartment I2, and a storage compartment I3.l A substantially horizontal baille or wall I4 separates the display chamber I0 and thecooling chamber II. An evaporator or cooling coil I5 is provided in the cooling chamber Il. For most elcient cooling it is desirable to withdraw the warm airwhich naturally rises into the upper portion of the display case and to replace the air withdrawn' with cooler air. In order to accomplish this purpose I have provided a conduit I6 extending from an opening I1 in the bale I4 into the upper portion of the display chamber I0. In order to insure a positive circulation of air I have provided a centrifugal fan I8 driven by a motor I9. When the fan is in operation warm air is drawn into the conduit I6 through a plurality of openings 20 in the upper end of the conduit I6. The air exhausted by the fan I8 is directed outwardly in all directions from the fan across the evaporator I5 and the under side of the baille I4. YThe cooled air is returned to the display chamber I0 through openings 2I around the outer edges of the baille I4. A deflecting baille 22 is arranged above the openings 2l in order to direct the air flow across the articles on display. The conduit I6 maybe -ing chamber I I.

located substantially centrally of the baille I4 with the openings 2l along the edges of the baille I4, as shown in Fig. 2, in order to obtain an equal distribution of 'cold air which it is well recognized is a difdcult problem in refrigerated showcases al- ,f though substantial benefits will be obtained so long as the inlet is spaced inwardly from the marginal edges of baille I4.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, I have provided display cham- 10 ber Ill with transparent panels 23 in the side walls and transparent panel 24 on the top Wall thereof. Preferably, the material used for the panels is glass supported in a suitable frame. I have illustrated the doors in the top wall as being hinged 16 to a central channel member 25 but obviously the doors may be arranged in any desired fashion for ready access to the interior of the display case. For example, siliding doors may be used or even doors which may be lifted out of the case. In m order to provide illumination for the interior of the case, I provide lamp 26.

The refrigerating machinery compartment 'I2 and storage compartment I3 are contained within the shell 21 beneath cooling chamber II. A heat 25 insulated wall separates the refrigerating machinery and storage compartments from the cool- This wall comprises plates 28 and 29 suitably joined to shell 21 and separated by heat insulation 30. Baiile plate I4 is suitably $0 secured at the outer edges to the shell 21. In order to restrict conduction of heat from the cooling chamber through the shell 21, I have pro-t vided an inner `shell 3| extending between plate 28 and baiile I4 separated from shell 21 by heat g insulation 32. l

Conduit I6 extends above the food supporting surface of plate I4 into the display chamber I0 a suilicient distance to reach the warm air which rises to the upper portion of the display cham- 40 ber. I have shown a plurality of openings 20 aroundthe upper end of conduit I6 in order to permit heated air to be drawn into the conduit from all directions. While I have shown circular openings in Fig. 1 and slots in Fig. 3, it will be obvious that any shape of opening may be provided and, if desired, the conduit can b'e left entirely open at the upper'end. The driving motor I9 for the fan I8 is supportedin the conduit I6 in ,1., any suitable manner. Evaporator I5 comprises, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a nned tube arranged in a substantially rectangular coil.

The openings 2l for the return of the cooled air to the display chamber I may take the form of. slots on all sides of the baille plate I4 as shown in Fig. 2. Openings of any shape and spacing may be employed, however. For example, a single rectangular opening may be provided along substantially the entire length of each edge of the baille, or,` if desired, the baille plate could be spaced apart from the shell 21 around its entire perimeter being supported from the shell 21 by separate bracket members.

'I'he path of circulated air has been briefly described above. 'I'he operation of the fan decreases the air pressure in the conduit I6 thereby causing air in the upper portion of chamber I0 to iiow into the conduit I 6 through openings 20 in the upper end thereof. The flow is then downwardly across the motor I9, thereby cooling the motor, to the fan I 8. As previously described, the fan I8 operates to force the circulating air through cooling chamber II in all directions in contact with the finned tubes constituting the cooling coil I5. The air circulated in chamber II is thus'cooled and, since no heat insulation is inserted between baille I4 and chamber II, the baille is cooled also, bythe flow of air across its lower side. The cooled air ows through the openings 2I back into the chamber I0. It should be noted that the defiecting member 22 not only directs the return stream of cooled air across the articles on display but it also serves to direct the current of air towards the upper end of conduit I6 and it also deflects the cooled air away from the glass panels 23 thereby minimizing condensation of moisture on the glass. In order to dispose of any condensate which may have resulted l from either. defrosting the evaporator or from the normal operation of the apparatus I construct plate 28 in such a way that it slopes toward a drain 33.

I have provided retrigerating apparatus including a compressor 34 driven by a motor 35 by means of a belt 36 and pulleys 31 and 38. I have also shown a condenser 39, a liquid receiver 40, and an expansion valve 4|. Refrigerant vapor is withdrawn from evaporator I through conduit 42 by the compressor 34. The exhaust from the compressor 34 is conducted to the condenser 39 through a conduit 43. The condensed refrig-l erant then flows to the liquid receiver 40 through a conduit 44 and flows back to the evaporator through a conduit 45 and the expansion valve 4I. The condenser is air-cooled and a fan 46 is provided to increase the cooling capacity. The refrigerating compartment is open at' the bottom so that air is drawn into the refrigerating compartment by the fan, blown across the condenser, and exhausted to the atmosphere through louvers 41 in the side wall of the casing 21.

All of the space below the display compartment which is not occupied by the refrigerating machinery is utilized for storage space. When so used the storage compartment is enclosed by al In' Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown a modification of the above embodiment of my invention. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the display case is made rectangular in shape. Furthermore, the slots or openings 2| are provided on only two edges of the baille plate I4 so that the return air is circulated in only two directions. The equivalent of air circulation in four` directions is obtained by drawing air into the vertical conduit I6 from all sides of the conduit. Instead of the rectanguiar coil arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2, the evaporator coils illustrated in Fig. 4 are placed lengthwise of the case on each side of the fan I8. The top of the case illustrated in Fig. 3 is made sloping thus making it impossible to place objects on the door panels 24 and to make the doors more readily accessible. 'Ihe display case shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is in all other respects similar to that shown in connection with Figs. 1 and 2.

While I have shown and described my inven tion as applied to a refrigerated display cabinet, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a refrigerated display counter, an upper portion having transparent side and top walls, a substantially horizontal baille member in said upper portion constructed from heat conducting material dividing said portion into a display chamber and a cooling chamber, a cooling coil extending substantially throughout the extent of said cooling chamber, a refrigerating machinery compartment beneath said cooling chamber, a

storage chamber beneath said cooling'chamber, a substantially vertical conduit extending through an opening in said bafiie into the upper portion of said display chamber, said baille havlng outlet openings in at least two edges thereof, a motor within said conduit, blower means driven by said motor to continuously circulateair from said chamber downwardly through said conduit, across said cooling coil and across the under side of said baille and through said openings back into said displaychamber, and means to deflect the cooled air away from said walls of said chamber across the articles on display.

2. In a refrigerated display counter, an upper portion having transparent side and top walls. a substantially horizontal baille member in said upper portion constructed from heat conducting material dividing said portion into a display chamber and a cooling chamber, a cooling coil extending substantially throughout the extent of said cooling chamber, a refrigerating machinery compartment beneath said cooling chamber, a storage chamber beneath said cooling chamber and adjacent to said'machinery compartmenta substantially vertical conduit extending through an opening in said baille into the upper portion of said display chamber, said conduit having a plurality of openings near the top thereof around substantially the entire circumference of said conduit, said baille having a plurality of slots in at least two edges thereof, a motor within said conduit, blower means driven by said motor to continuously circulate air from said chamber downwardly through said conduit, across said cooling coil and across the under side of said bafe and through said slots back into said display chamber, and means to deflect the cooledair away from said walls of said display chamber across the articles on display,

3. In a refrigerated display case, a display chamber, a cooling chamber, a wall separating said chambers, a cooling coil extending substantially throughout the extent of said cooling chamber, said wall having an inlet passage therethrough, a substantially vertical conduit extending from said inlet passage into the upper portion of said display chamber, said conduit having a plurality of openings near the top thereof, means located near the lower end of said conduit to induce the circulation of air, said wall having slots in at least tw'o opposite edges thereof, said means causing warmv air. to be withdrawn from' the upper portion of said display chamber through said conduit intosaid cooling chamber and into contact with said cooling coil, said means causing cooled air to be returned through said slots into said display chamber, and means to deect the cooled air away from the walls of said display chamber and toward the upper end of said conduit whereby condensation of moisture on said walls of said display chamber is minimized.

4. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a substantially horizontal baille member dividing said case into a display chamber and a cooling chamber, cooling means in said cooling chamber, said balie member being provided with an opening located substantially centrally of said baiile member, said member being imperforate except for said opening, said baffle member also serving as a food supporting surface, means including a blower for conducting air around an edge of said baille member in a circuit including said opening and said cooling chamber.

5. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a substantially horizontal baille member chamber, said member being provided with an opening substantially centrally of said member and an opening at an edge of said member, said member being imperforate except for said openings, said baflle member also serving as a food supporting surface, and means including a blower for drawing air from said display chamber through one of said openings, circulating said air through said cooling chamber and in contact with said cooling means and returning the cooled air to said display chamber through the other of said openings.

6. In a refrigerated display case, the combina,- tion of a substantially horizontal baille member dividing said'case into a display chamber and a cooling chamber, cooling means in said cooling of said baffle member, said member being imperforate except for said opening, said baille mem-A ber also serving as a. food supporting surface, means including a blower for drawing air from said display chamber through said inlet and circulating said air through said cooling chamber in contact with said cooling means and toward an edge of said baille member, and returning the cooled air to said display chamber around an edge of said baile member.

7. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a substantially horizontal baille member dividing said case into a display chamber and a cooling chamber, cooling means in said cooling chamber, said member being provided with an inlet opening substantially'centrally of said member and an outlet opening at anedge of said member, said member being imperforate except for said openings, said baille member also serving as a food supporting surface, and means including a blower for drawing air from said display chamber through said inlet opening, circulating said air through said cooling chamber and in contact with said cooling means toward said edge of said member and returning the cooled air to said display chamber through said outlet opening.

8. In a refrigerated display case, a substantially horizontal baille member formed of relatively good heat conducting material dividing said case into a display chamber and a cooling chamber, a cooling coil in said cooling chamber, a conduit in communicationl with an opening in said baille .nember into the upper portion of said display chamber, said member having an outlet opening at an edge thereof, blower means for circulating air from said display chamber downwardly through said conduit, across said cooling coil and across the under side of said member and through said outlet opening back into said display chamber.

9. In a refrigerated display case, the combination of a substantially horizontal baille member dividing said case into a display chamber and a cooling chamber, cooling means in said cooling,

chamber, said baille member being provided with an opening located substantially centrally of said baiile member, said member being imperforat except for said opening, said baffle memberv also serving'as a food supporting surface, a conduit extending from said opening into the upper portion of said display chamber, and means including a blower for conducting air around an edge of said baille .member in a circuit including said conduit and said cooling chamber.

ARTHUR W. BIRELEY. 

